The Grass is Always Greener
by Aladris
Summary: Naruto and Sakura come from different worlds. She's rich, he's poor. She's a bookworm, he hates school. She's alone, he has friends. What can they learn from each other when they spend a summer working together? NaruSaku, AU
1. PART I — Class Struggle

**PART I — Class Struggle**

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 **Chapter 1: Monday, Week 1**

Everyone under the pavilion went silent as a bright red SUV pulled into view. The driver threw the car into park; the rumbling motor died, leaving a tense silence. The driver got out of the car, then retrieved her lunchbox from the passenger's seat before shutting the door. Curious eyes watched her as she walked towards them. The girl was nervous, being the single subject of the group's scrutiny. She ducked under the shade of the pavilion and quickly glanced at her surroundings. She spotted a free seat at the end of a picnic table, deserted by the others, and claimed it.

Conversation resumed after she sat down, much to her relief. She checked her watch. Ten more minutes until the start of the shift. She gave her surroundings a better look, now that the others had forgotten her. Four college-aged people stood at one end of the pavilion. Four people sat with her at two rows of picnic tables; they all looked like high school students. She glimpsed at what lay outside the pavilion: dirt beds infested with sprawling weeds, bushes which had grown wild by neglect, some haphazardly placed sunflower stalks...

The approaching sound of a choked motor drew her attention. She watched as a rusty car turned into the street and pulled up beside her SUV. She faintly registered the sound of music playing through the car's rolled down windows, but the noise of the motor easily overpowered it. _Good thing_ , she thought wryly. _It sounds like bad music_.

The driver mercifully cut the engine and got out of the car. He was a lanky boy with uncooperative, blond hair. He twirled the keys in his hand, waiting for his passengers to get out. A very bored looking boy got out from the passenger's side. After closing the door, he yawned, then stuck his hands in his pockets and slouched forward. A girl with a sleek, blonde ponytail got out from the back.

They made their way over to the pavilion and were warmly received by the others. The blond boy sat in front of the silent girl with his back turned to her. She felt strangely drawn to him. His laughter sounded warm and genuine, his speech free and easy. He was charismatic and confident, full of life and enthusiasm. She leaned forward to catch his words...

"Yo!" The girl snapped back, away from the blond stranger. A college-aged figure stepped forward to address the sitting group. He had spiky, silver hair which looked odd above his young face. _Hair gel and dye_ , the girl mused to herself. _Though I'm not one to judge, with pink hair and all..._

"So welcome to the Clifton Park community garden." The guy scratched his chin and turned to his three companions. "Uh, I'm not really good with this cutesy intro stuff."

A girl with curly black hair and amber eyes stepped forward. She raised an eyebrow at him. "Cutesy?" she queried. She turned to face the picnic tables. "It's great to have you all here. All of us," she gestured at herself and her companions, "are really excited to work with you this summer. I'm Kurenai."

"Kakashi," the silver-haired boy offered.

"I'm Iruka," said the boy beside him. He had a wide scar spanning the bridge of his nose.

"I'm Gai! Pleased to meet you all!" said the last member of the four, flashing his audience a blinding smile and a thumbs-up.

Kurenai sent around a clipboard with a sign-in sheet and passed out some paperwork. She and Iruka then stayed under the pavilion to organize the completed paperwork, while Kakashi and Gai gave the group a tour of the garden. They stopped by the tool shed and listened to Gai explain how to properly store each tool. Then, they visited the compost pile and Kakashi unwillingly described what should and shouldn't go into the pile. Finally, they perused the garden beds, pointing out which crop would grow in each. "These are going to take years to weed," Kakashi muttered under his breath.

Gai perked up. "Kakashi, I challenge you to a weed-removal competition! Whoever weeds the most beds—"

"Idiots!" Kurenai interrupted Gai, as the group returned to the pavilion. "That work is for the high schoolers to do!" She put a hand to her face. "It's going to be a long summer with you two..."

Iruka lead the 'high schoolers' to a flat, grassy area and told them to form a circle. "We're going to start introductions now. You'll each say your names, your favorite vegetable, and an interesting fact about yourself. I'll start. My name is Iruka, I like radishes, and I once got into a really bad bike accident." He pointed to the scar on his nose, and then to the person on his left. "You're next."

"Troublesome..." the bored boy muttered before speaking up, "I'm Shikamaru. I like celery, and there's nothing interesting about me."

Iruka scowled. "That's not an acceptable answer."

Shikamaru glanced at him with a bored expression, then at the sky in hopelessness. "I play chess."

The girl with the long, blonde ponytail was next. "I'm Ino. I guess I like carrots the best. Something interesting about me? There are lots of things..." The bored boy beside her rolled his eyes. "I know a lot about flowers. I can identify hundreds of them."

"I'm Neji." The boy had light eyes and a dark ponytail. "I like...kale, I guess. I practice martial arts in my free time."

"I'm Kiba," said the next boy. "Do tomatoes count as a vegetable?" he asked. The four older members held a non-verbal conference with each other, then nodded in unison. "Cool, so tomatoes are my favorite vegetable. And I've got a second job at the Clifton animal shelter."

"I'm Gai! I love all vegetables with a passion, since they are healthy and help me maintain my youth!" Kakashi, Iruka, and Kurenai all looked extremely embarrassed for their teammate. "I love competing with others so don't be shy with me!"

The boy with messy, blond hair was next. "I'm Naruto," he said confidently. "I—ramen is a vegetable, right?"

The four leaders looked at him dumbly, before realizing his question was serious. "No," was the unanimous answer.

Naruto looked a little defeated. "Well, I hate all vegetables then."

"Not acceptable," Iruka warned.

Naruto scowled, then screwed up his eyes in thought. After a moment, he brightened. "Potatoes are okay. And," he finished, suddenly disinterested, "I like hanging out with my friends."

The pink-haired girl listened to his introduction carefully. His final statement, though nonchalantly spoken, made an impression on her.

"I'm Kakashi," said the next-in-line. "I like eggplant. I like doing nothing." A dangerous look from Iruka. Kakashi coughed. "I read sometimes."

All eyes fell on her. She gulped. "I'm Sakura," she managed. "I like cucumbers and..." Sudden inspiration hit her. "My hair is naturally this color." She held out a pink strand to the group.

Kakashi quirked an eyebrow. "Oh really?" he asked doubtfully.

She looked at Kakashi, then noticed Naruto watching her from Kakashi's side. His eyes were blue and intense. His scrutiny made Sakura nervous, and she defensively averted her gaze.

"I'm Tenten," said the girl beside her. "Cucumbers are also my favorite vegetable. I'm on four varsity sports teams."

"Oooh!" Gai shot her a burning look. "Which sports?"

Her eye twitched. "Soccer, swimming, track, and basketball."

"Right! Prepare yourself, young one! You will soon be challenged to an olympic-style competition by yours truly!" He pointed a thumb at himself, then held it out to her with a smile.

She watched helplessly. "Looking forward to it."

"I'm Kurenai. I like asparagus. My eyes look pretty cool up close." She shrugged. "You can come see them later, if you want." Sakura squinted at Kurenai; her eyes sparkled red in the sunlight.

"I'm Chouji," said the last to go. His round face seemed friendly and kind. "I like carrots, and I like to cook for my friends."

Iruka clapped his hands together. "Alright, great job everyone. Now that you know each other, we're going to split you up into pairs. The pairs have been decided beforehand, so don't beg me to put you with your best friend. I won't listen to you. Each pair will also be joined by one of us four, making three-man teams." He drew a piece of paper from his pocket. "Team One: Shikamaru, Chouji, and Kakashi," he announced. "Team Two: Ino, Kiba, and Kurenai. Team Three: Neji, Tenten, and Gai." Tenten's face fell considerably. "And Team Four: Naruto, Sakura, and," he shot both of them a quick smile, "myself."

They split up into their teams. Iruka motioned for Naruto and Sakura to follow him. They stopped under the shade of a large pine tree.

"Alright Team Four, Naruto and Sakura was it? Take an index card. Write down three goals you want to achieve this summer, and if you have any allergies." Iruka met their questioning gazes with a sheepish grin. "We like to bring in food sometimes."

They wrote in silence. "Do either of you want to share?" he asked after they finished.

Sakura made no move to volunteer so Naruto cleared his throat. "I am allergic to vegetables," he read.

"Not that, you idiot!" Iruka exclaimed, snatching the card out of Naruto's hand. "And no, I don't think you are!" He scribbled over Naruto's answer with his own pencil. "I'm talking about your goals." He gave Naruto his card back.

The blond boy tried again: "I want to make money so I can travel around the country, I want to enjoy the outdoors, and I'd like to make some new friends." Sakura glanced at him; he coolly met her gaze.

"Sakura?" Iruka prompted.

She sighed. "I want to become a better gardener, I want to have a little financial independence from my parents, and I want to...broaden my perspective," she ended vaguely.

"Say, I've never seen you around the high school," Naruto said to her, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "I recognize almost everyone else here."

"I'm from Altamont," she told him.

He cringed, then his eyes darkened. Sakura had expected a reaction like this, knowing her town's reputation in Clifton. "So you think you're better than all of us," he snarled at her.

"Naruto," Iruka warned.

"No. In fact, I used to live in Clifton," Sakura told him steadily. His unfair judgement angered her and gave her the strength to confront him. "I moved to Altamont before I started middle school. But I remember Clifton and..." She paused. "I miss it."

Naruto bitterly turned away from her. "You don't understand anything."

Iruka ushered his sulking team under the pavilion to join the others. "Looks like a we ran a little overtime today," Kurenai said apologetically.

"No lunch break," Chouji complained.

"We'll give you guys a longer lunch tomorrow."

The eight workers signed off their shift, then left for home.

 **...**

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 **Chapter 2: Tuesday, Week 1**

"Weeding is boring," Naruto complained. "Look at those guys over there." He pointed to the members of Team Three—Gai, Neji, and Tenten. "They look like they're having fun. Why can't we work with them?"

"This was our assignment," Iruka told him patiently. "We'll get to woodchip eventually."

Sakura continued to pull weeds without complaint. She liked the tedious task. It calmed her.

"So what grade are you guys in?" asked Iruka, trying to make polite conversation.

Naruto and Sakura would be seniors in the fall.

"Plans after high school?"

Both were reluctant to answer. Sakura said finally, "I'll go to college, then to medical school. I'm going to become a doctor." The statement sounded robotic—rehearsed without much conviction behind it. The emptiness of her own tone surprised her.

Naruto threw a handful of weeds into his basket, then followed up, "I'm going to roadtrip across the country once I graduate."

"You're not going to college?" Sakura asked, her tone slightly accusing.

Naruto sneered at her, "I hate school. First chance I get, I'm ditching this shithole and taking control of my own life."

A pause. Then: "Are you out of your mind? You need a college degree to do practically anything in today's world."

"Thanks, nerd. I'm aware."

Sakura seethed at his irresponsible, short-sighted mentality. But his words resonated with some small part of her, a part which she tirelessly tried to bury and ignore...

She laughed the feeling away. "Your car won't even make it to the state border."

He glared at her. "One, it's not my car. It's Shikamaru's, he's just too lazy to drive it when someone else will. Two," anger seeped into his voice, "not all of us are rich enough to afford a shiny, new SUV."

She said nothing, focusing all her attention on ripping out the purslane before her. _Damn that Naruto,_ she thought to herself. _I am_ not _a stuck-up, rich kid! ...Am I?_

"Iruka, what year are you in college?" Naruto asked, his tone becoming civil again.

"I'm a sophomore, double majoring in history and education. I want to become a teacher, maybe at the elementary or middle school level."

"Yeah, you'd make a great teacher," Naruto said encouragingly.

Sakura ignored Naruto's attempt to isolate her. She dumped her basketful of weeds onto the compost pile, then went to the pavilion for a swig of water. Kurenai called for lunch before Sakura could return to her team.

Chouji and Kiba set out for the nearest convenience store. Shikamaru and Ino headed for the rusty death machine. Sakura was surprised when Naruto didn't join his two friends for lunch. Instead he walked down the street, turned onto the main road, and disappeared from view. Tenten, Neji, and the four team leaders sat together beneath the pavilion. Sakura hesitated, unsure if she should sit with her six coworkers or by herself. She didn't know if they wanted a stranger to join them...

"Sakura, come sit down," Kakashi called to her. The others looked at her with mixed expressions. Some were welcoming and friendly, others were more apprehensive. She took a deep breath. _Overcoming one obstacle at a time..._

She nodded gratefully. "Thanks," she said and joined them.

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So she learned that everyone but her and Gai were from Clifton. She was from Altamont, of course, and Gai was from Irving. Neji's father was the mayor of Clifton—he did seem a bit different from the others. Tenten had committed herself to swimming for the best university in the state. She would go there after completing her final year of high school. Kakashi and Gai were college seniors, Kurenai was a junior, and Iruka was a sophomore.

Chouji and Kiba returned from their outing, each with a greasy paper bag in their hands. Tenten gestured to their possessions. "What's in the bag?"

"Beef patty," Kiba said happily.

Sakura looked at them, confused. "Just a beef patty by itself?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah?" Kiba answered, equally as confused as she felt.

"Does that taste good?"

Chouji blanched. "Of course it does!"

"But it's just a hamburger without the bun." Blank stares enveloped her. "Right?"

Everyone around her roared with laughter. Some dashed tears from their eyes, many doubled over from hysterics. Sakura's face burned like the sun. "What are you laughing about?" she demanded.

Chouji recovered enough to reach into his bag and draw something from it. He held the object out to her. "This...hehe...HAHA...this is a-a-a beef...HAHAHA a beef patty!" he choked out.

"What?" She looked at the taco-like thing before her. "Oh, I didn't know."

The titters gradually died down. "Oh man, Sakura, I haven't laughed like that for a while!" Kiba chuckled, patting her shoulder.

"We'll go get a beef patty together some time, okay?" Tenten nudged her arm.

She hid her face in her hands, then smiled. "Okay, I'm so embarrassed," she mumbled.

"Typical rich kid from Altamont," muttered a voice from behind her. Sakura swiveled around to see Naruto watching her, leaning against a wooden support. "Doesn't know anything about how normal people live."

She faced him angrily. "What's your problem?" she fired back.

Ino and Shikamaru had returned with their own greasy paper bags. "Hey, what's going on?" Ino asked worriedly.

"Lay off," Naruto growled at Sakura.

"You started it."

Shikamaru went over to Naruto, put a hand on his shoulder, then shook his head. Ino went to Sakura and said quietly, "Forgive Naruto." She bit her lip. "He's...been through a lot."

Sakura swallowed, then nodded. She turned away from her blond antagonist. Despite being on the same team, they didn't exchange a single word for the rest of the week.

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 **Chapter 3: Monday, Week 2**

 _Five more weeks_. Sakura parked her SUV, cut the engine, and slumped in her seat. Classical music continued to waft through her car's speakers. She didn't want to deal with Naruto today, or tomorrow, or ever again for that matter...

He'd seemed so friendly on the first day of work. "He still is friendly, I suppose," she said aloud. "To everyone but me." Sakura got along well with her other coworkers. She'd even made some friends: Ino, Tenten, Chouji, and Kiba. Neji and Shikamaru would take some more work, but at least they were polite to her. All four team leaders treated her well. For once, she felt like part of a group. Her peers seemed to genuinely enjoy her company, and they did their best to include her in everything they did. Her heart warmed at the thought.

The only thing bringing her down was Naruto. She angled the rearview mirror to look at herself. "Just ignore him, Sakura. He's not worth your time. Don't give him the satisfaction of seeing how pissed—"

A knock on her windowpane. She jerked her head to the left and blue eyes met hers. Mockery danced in their depths. "Talking to yourself?"

She shot him the darkest scowl she could muster. The door flew open and Naruto jumped away, narrowly avoiding the hit. "Yeesh, someone needs their pacifier this morning."

She snatched her lunchbox, slammed the door shut, and stomped off towards the pavilion. He hesitated as she passed him, like he wanted to say something more. She pretended not to notice.

 **...**

 **...**

"Sakura."

"What?" she snapped, dropping a handful of ground cherries into her basket. She didn't look up at her blond teammate.

Silence ensued. She braced herself for an insult.

"...I'm sorry."

Now she did look at him. "Excuse me?" she squeaked.

"I'm sorry," Naruto repeated. He scratched his head in embarrassment. "We got off to a bad start."

She leveled him with a stare. "And whose fault is that?" she asked, still incredulous.

"Yours—" She glowered at him. He sighed. "Okay, mine."

Her indignant expression faltered slightly. "Well," she cleared her throat, "I guess...I could've been a little nicer to you."

His lips curved up a fraction. "Truce?" he offered.

"...Truce."

Sakura turned away from him, amazed at his change of heart. _Maybe Naruto does have a brain after all._

Iruka observed them contentedly. _It's about time they got along,_ he thought to himself.

 **...**

 **...**

"Damn it," Kakashi swore as Shikamaru reached over the chessboard between them, and knocked a black piece aside with his white one.

The two had utterly abandoned their lunches for a game of chess. The leader of Team One remembered Shikamaru's 'interesting fact' from the first day, and had asked the younger man if he owned a chess set. Shikamaru said yes, did he want to play? Kakashi shrugged, pretending not to care. Inwardly, he wanted to try his hand at the game. People told him he was fairly smart after all...

"Check," said a lazy voice. Even on the brink of victory, Shikamaru looked bored.

Ino, Tenten, Chouji, and Kiba set out for the convenience store. "Do you want us to bring you a beef patty?" Ino called to Sakura before leaving, a trace of humor in her voice.

Sakura thought back to last week, when her peers had dragged her off to the small, dingy convenience store they now frequented. Much to her peers' delight, she'd given the item a try. She half-cringed, half-smiled at the memory. In all honesty, the beef patty hadn't really agreed with her stomach.

"No thanks, you guys enjoy," she called back.

Naruto was conspicuously absent from lunch, as usual. "Hey," she said to her tablemates—Neji, Kurenai, Iruka, and Gai. "What's down that way?" She pointed down the main road, away from the convenience store.

Iruka knew why she asked. He'd also noticed the blond boy's absence. "There's a cemetery across the street, about a five minute walk from here," he told her.

"Oh." Sakura's brow furrowed. "Okay, thanks."


	2. PART II — A Day in the Life

**A/N:** From the bottom of my heart, thanks for all the support. I'm grateful to be able to share this story with you.

One reviewer mentioned that my chapters are a bit short, which I agree with. I've decided to consolidate my fic into four parts. So now the first three chapters are Part I. Here's Part II.

 **PART II — A Day in the Life**

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 **Chapter 4: Wednesday, Week 2**

"Yes!" Naruto exclaimed after reading their day's assignment off the whiteboard. "We finally get to woodchip today! I swear, the other teams have done this job _twice_ already, and this is our _first_ time."

The team grabbed two wheelbarrows, three shovels, and three rakes from the tool shed, then made their way to the woodchip pile.

"You guys work on the border along the road," Iruka instructed. "I'll fix up the garden paths."

It didn't take long for the pair to fill their wheelbarrow. Sakura grabbed for it once it was full; Naruto put an arm in front of her. "Allow me," he told her.

She put her hands on her hips. "You don't think I'm strong enough?"

"Wow, most girls would say something like, 'Thank you, Naruto! You're my knight in shining armor!'" he mimicked in a comically high voice. "And then they'd hug me." He raised his eyebrows at her.

Sakura snorted. "Girls don't talk like that. Smart ones at least," she added the last bit under her breath. Naruto heard it and snickered. "Anyways, you can take it up next time." She fluidly stepped around his arm and pushed the wheelbarrow to the sidewalk. Naruto went after her with the rakes.

The border filled in slowly. They took a break after finishing half of the job. Water and shade refreshed them. They returned to the pile, then filled the wheelbarrow again.

Seeing Sakura move for the handles, Naruto stepped in front of her. "My turn, remember?"

She thought for a moment, not quite trusting him on the matter. "You're right," she said after deliberating.

Naruto grinned at her. "Wanna race?"

"Uh sure. Right now?" Naruto picked the rakes out of her grasp and placed them in the wheelbarrow, atop the woodchips. He wheeled the wheelbarrow to the sidewalk. Sakura lagged a step behind him.

"Ready?" He gripped the handles tighter.

She blanched. "What are you doing?"

"I can beat you while wheeling this." His blue eyes danced, challenging her.

Her temper flared. He was underestimating her. "You're on," she growled.

In unison they counted, "Three, two, one!" Sakura immediately gained the lead. She smiled. The idiot thought too highly of himself.

 _Wait_ , she thought to herself as she pumped her legs, _where are we stopping?_

"Naruto," she turned back to face him, "are we racing to the—" She cut herself off. He was gaining on her! Aghast, she pushed harder off the ground.

The top became their _de facto_ finish line. She heard him right behind her, footsteps slamming on the concrete. She pushed herself forward. She ran blindly. No one would underestimate her and get away with it. Vaguely she heard someone cheering for her. Her chest heaved. Her feet flew up the hill. Almost there...

She won by a few steps. The two competitors bent forward on the hilltop, Sakura's hands on her knees, Naruto holding the wheelbarrow for support.

"Ha...ha...not bad, Sakura. You're...pretty fast."

Sakura raised her hands in mock victory. "But the race was hardly fair," she pointed out, hands falling to her sides. "You had a serious handicap."

He grinned at her. "I underestimated you. My mistake."

"Naruto! Sakura!" Iruka yelled at them from across the garden. "We aren't paying you to fool around. Get back to work!" he called, trying his best to sound angry.

"Sakura!" Ino and Tenten whispered to her from inside the garden. "Nice job!"

Her heart lightened in her chest. "Thanks guys," she whispered back. She turned to Naruto. "So," she drew out the word mockingly, "what do I get for winning?"

He scratched the back of his head. "I don't think we decided on anything..."

"In that case..." She removed the rakes from the wheelbarrow, climbed into it herself, and seated herself atop the woodchips, replacing the rakes in her lap. She looked at Naruto expectantly. He raised an eyebrow at her, trying unsuccessfully to hide a smirk. "Well? I'm waiting," she said, feigning derision.

Naruto bowed. "Yes, your highness."

Sakura rode the wheelbarrow up and down the hill, for the rest of the shift.

 **...**

 **...**

 **Chapter 5: Friday, Week 2**

"Youthful comrades," Gai began, facing his unenthusiastic coworkers, "next week marks the opening of our glorious farmstand. You may have seen this beautiful structure by the corner of our garden. This, my beautiful friends, is where the fruits of our labor will be sold! The vegetables, herbs, and berries we worked so hard to cultivate will finally have their chance to shine." Tears streamed down his cheeks. Kakashi looked away in disgust.

Kurenai took over, ignoring Gai's outraged expression. "The farmstand opens every day except Monday. The shift begins after the regular shift ends. Each team will be assigned one of the four days to work. To make it easy, since I know some of you will forget," she gave pointed looks to a few members of her audience, "Team One works on Tuesday, Team Two on Wednesday, Three on Thursday, and Four on Friday."

"It's a lot of fun," Iruka reassured his teammates once they were out in the garden.

"Yeah, but on Friday?" Naruto grimaced. Sakura couldn't help but share his disappointment.

"Well, I have a tradition of ordering pizza every time my team works the farmstand." He winked at Naruto and Sakura. "Looks like you guys got lucky, getting me as your leader."

"Huh? Sure, Iruka," they laughed. He glared at them before caving into a smile.

 **...**

 **...**

"Naruto?"

The blond boy turned around, surprised. "Sakura?"

"You're not driving home with Shikamaru and Ino?"

"Nah, I rode my bike here today. Shikamaru was running late this morning. No time to pick me up."

"Oh," Sakura said, her brow furrowed. "I thought you lived near Shikamaru."

"I don't. He goes out of his way to pick me up every morning." Naruto scratched his head. "The least I can do is drive us to and from work."

"So your bike won't fit into the rusty death machine?" she asked.

"Have you ever tried fitting a bike into the trunk of a sedan that size?"

Sakura thought for a moment. "Yes. I think the bike fell out." Naruto laughed. "It'll fit in my car. I can give you a ride home."

Naruto stared at her dumbly, then shook himself from his stupor. "Thanks Sakura, but I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" The sky had turned ominously dark during their last hour of work. She looked up at the heavy clouds. "I think it might rain."

"Yeah, a little rain won't hurt me," he said, turning away to fiddle with his bike lock.

As if in response, raindrops began to patter against the pavilion roof. Naruto and Sakura watched the light drizzle quickly turn into a downpour. They vaguely saw Neji and Tenten sprinting down the street before the rain completely obscured their vision. Soon, nothing beyond the shelter of the pavilion was visible.

"Are you sure?" Sakura asked a second time.

The pair ran out into the rain, Naruto wheeling his bike along, Sakura dashing to the trunk of her car. She threw the trunk door open and they maneuvered the bike inside. The trunk closed with a thud and for a moment, neither of them moved. They just stared at each other. Then Naruto grinned like a lunatic. Sakura knew she looked equally as mad as he did.

"I love the rain," she yelled over the sound of water crashing around them.

"Me too," he agreed.

They took off their shoes and ran onto the deserted street. Sakura spun on her heels, lifting her face to the sky. She opened her mouth to taste the rain. "It hasn't rained like this all year," she said to Naruto.

The sewers couldn't handle the intake of so much water. Huge puddles formed on the street. Naruto and Sakura splashed through all of them, kicking the muddy water at each other, wriggling their toes in the ankle-high depths. They ran and laughed until they'd exhausted themselves. The heavy rain showed no signs of stopping.

They walked down the slick road side-by-side. Sakura suddenly shivered. "Are you cold?" Naruto asked. He moved closer to her, concerned.

"I'm okay, but maybe we should get you home," she said.

He nodded. They made for her car. She slid into the driver's seat, while he rode shotgun. They were saturated with water.

"Sorry about your car," Naruto said guiltily.

"A little rain won't hurt it," she replied, echoing his own words.

She drove through the downpour slowly, concentrating on the road before her. Naruto provided her with directions. He lived further away than she'd expected. "This is still Clifton?" she asked after they'd driven for some time.

"Yeah, we're getting close to the boundary. Take a left here."

They pulled into a long driveway, coming to a stop before a small and dark house. "No one's home?" Sakura asked jokingly, looking at its black windows.

Naruto tensed. "No," he said, suddenly serious.

Bike extracted from the trunk, the two teenagers faced each other. "I'll see you tomorrow, Naruto." The corner of her mouth inched up.

Without realizing it, his hand rose to meet her cheek. He stopped himself before it got there, placing it instead on the top of her head. He was significantly taller than her. "Thanks for the ride, Sakura." He lifted his hand, hoping she hadn't noticed him blush.

"Hm." She smiled at him, then walked back to her car and drove away.

He stood in the rain, watching her car until it disappeared, his heart beating irregularly the whole time.

 **...**

 **...**

 **Chapter 6: Tuesday, Week 3**

Teams Two and Four were harvesting cucumbers together—that is, they _had_ been until Kiba chucked one halfway across the garden.

"What the hell?" Kurenai shot Kiba a dark look which spoke for itself: "You better have a good explanation for this."

"I was aiming for my basket?" he tried. "It's just easier this way. See, I don't have to walk over..."

The older woman resisted the urge to wallop him in head. Instead, she banned him from ever touching the cucumbers again. "Harvest the peppers," she muttered, bringing a hand to her temple. She could feel a headache forming.

Two hours later, both jobs were done. Naruto and Sakura dropped down next to Ino and Kiba, who'd finished a few minutes before them. "I never want to see another cucumber again," Naruto muttered, having picked more than two hundred of them.

Sakura waved one in front of his face. "Ooh, scared yet?" she teased.

He wrested it from her grip and threw it back into the basket. "Terrified."

"Yeah Ino, these aren't bad at all." Naruto and Sakura looked over at their Team Two counterparts. Kiba was holding a half eaten pepper in his fingers. The pepper was small, dark green, and smooth. He finished it off. "Pretty good actually."

"See? You'd like the pickled peppers I always buy from the supermarket. They're spicier than this and delicious!" she told him.

Kiba reached for another jalapeno. "Sure, I'd try them," he said nonchalantly, trying to sound cool and manly.

"Uh, Kiba?"

Kiba looked at Sakura, pepper halfway to his mouth. "Yeah?"

"Aren't we supposed to, you know, not eat the merchandise?" she asked rhetorically. Naruto chuckled.

"It's fine, Sakura," Ino assured her, being a veteran to the job. "We never sell all of our jalapenos. Nobody will notice a few missing."

"Right." Kiba ate his second pepper in a single mouthful. He chewed the crunchy vegetable with enthusiasm. Naruto and Sakura watched him, impressed by his stoicism. But slowly, his expression turned from tranquil to horrified. The tempo of his chewing slowed as an unpleasant burning sensation overpowered his senses. His jaw simply stopped working. Naruto and Sakura watched, their own mouths open in fascination.

"Kiba?" Ino prompted gently.

By sheer willpower, Kiba overrode every one of his body's signals telling him to eject the pepper from his mouth. He swallowed the green mouthful, then proceeded to run around like a madman. "Oh my god, oh my god," he couldn't stop repeating the phrase as he ran in circles. He drooled a great deal, his face was redder than a tomato, and his tongue lolled out of his mouth, swollen and apparently on fire.

"K-Kiba, a-are you al-alright?" Sakura stammered out between giggles. She really wanted to break out into full-blown laughter, but restrained herself out of courtesy. She hadn't seen something so funny in a while.

"Guess the first one was a dud," Ino figured. "He'll be fine." She popped a jalapeno into her own mouth and finished it, unfazed.

Sakura's curiosity got the best of her: the pepper hardly affected Ino but threw Kiba into epileptic shock. "Maybe I should try one too..." she thought aloud.

"Ha sweetie, you couldn't even swallow half of one," Ino told her. "I can tell just by looking at you."

Sakura glowered at her, temper flaring. "That's it." She grabbed a pepper out of the basket and brought it to her mouth, hesitating only slightly before chomping down. She chewed carefully, bracing herself for the pepper's impact. Nothing happened. "This isn't so—" Suddenly, her mouth was on fire. She ran around, looking very much like Kiba did a minute ago. He was now sitting on the ground, eyes dull. It seemed that the pepper had short-circuited his brain.

Sakura grabbed the garden hose, drank from it in desperation, felt somewhat relieved, then drank some more as the burning sensation returned. This continued for a few minutes. Iruka and Kurenai, who'd left their charges alone to wash the produce, returned to see both Kiba and Sakura sprawled on the ground, groaning in pain.

Kurenai knew stupidity when she saw it. "What happened?" she asked, raising a single eyebrow.

Naruto held his sides, shaking with mirth. Ino's eyes watered from laughter. "Nothing," she hiccuped. "They'll be fine."

 **...**

 **...**

 **Chapter 7: Friday, Week 3**

"Ugh," Naruto groaned, "I'm exhausted, and we have to work for four more hours."

"In the real world, eight-hour shifts are the norm," Sakura pointed out. It was Friday, Team Four's farmstand day. The pair sat under the deserted pavilion, waiting for Iruka to return. He'd run off a few minutes earlier, parting words lost in haste. Something about a wooden cart and ordering pizza...

"Yeah, but after sifting compost all morning, my arms feel like noodles." He waved them around to make his point.

Sakura laughed. "Very convincing."

"Speaking of noodles, I'd love some ramen right now."

Sakura wrinkled her nose. "That stuff makes me really thirsty."

Naruto looked confused. Clearly, he had a different opinion. "Really? I feel fine after eating it."

"Hey," Iruka called to Naruto and Sakura as he wheeled a wooden cart towards them. "You guys load the veggies into here." He deposited the cart beside the pavilion. "When you're done, meet me by the tool shed."

Into the cart went cucumbers (lots of them), jalapenos (Naruto chuckled upon seeing them while Sakura's tongue tingled), bell peppers, a few tomatoes, pints of raspberries and ground cherries, cloves of garlic, dried herbs, bunches of kale and swiss chard, and a few flower bouquets. Task finished, they ditched the cart for the tool shed.

"Naruto, take these." Iruka handed his blond charge two fold-up tables. "Sakura." He handed her the 'cash register' (a painted, though admittedly sturdy, shoebox), a megaphone, and several lawn signs.

Iruka took charge of the wooden cart, while Naruto and Sakura carried their allotted burdens to the farmstand. After setting up the tables, Iruka fell to arranging the merchandise as artfully as possible.

"Presentation is everything," he told the pair sagely. "You have to put the common stuff up front, to make the customer feel comfortable." He placed the tomatoes, bell peppers, and cucumbers in a prominent position. "The more adventurous customers will search for the unusual stuff, while the majority will grab what they need and go." He placed the remaining merchandise around their featured counterparts. "As for these," he held up a pint of ground cherries, "most people have no idea what the heck they are. But they're good, aren't they?" Naruto and Sakura nodded. "You can't know if you haven't tried them. We let people sample these." Iruka opened the 'cash register' and drew out a notepad and pencil. He held them out to Sakura. "Can you make a sign that says 'samples' on it?" he asked her.

She took the proffered items, her eyes questioning. Naruto looked like he completely understood Iruka's request. "Girls have better handwriting," Iruka explained to her.

Sakura scowled. "You men and your gender stereotypes," she grumbled. "I have some of the worst handwriting you'll ever see."

"I don't believe you," Naruto said dubiously.

Sakura scrawled something on the notepad, then handed it to him.

Naruto squinted at the scrawl. "What does this even say?"

"Boys are idiots."

"Alright alright, point taken." He plucked the pencil from her hand, then made the sign himself. He wrote the letters slowly and carefully. To his credit, they came out very neat. Once he got to the remaining 'e' and 's,' he groaned. "I ran out of room."

Sakura laughed into her fist. Iruka slapped his forehead. "Just do the best you can," he muttered.

Farmstand ready, only one task remained. "These lawn signs need to go on each side of the road," he motioned to the objects in question. "There are two sets of signs there, identical."

Naruto and Sakura walked along the grassy shoulder of the street, signs in their arms, trying to decide how to order them. "How's this?" Sakura offered. "'Kale Mary! Farmstand ahead,' 'Lettuce show you the joy of vegetables,' 'Kohlrabi? Gesundheit,' 'You went too far,' and 'Your mother was right.'"

Naruto laughed at the strange witticisms. "It's good, but what's with the last sign?"

"I'm not really sure. I guess it means something like, 'Your mother was right, you are a disappointment,'" she said jokingly. "What do you think?"

Naruto stiffened. "Sure," he answered shortly.

At his change in demeanor, Sakura looked at him. "Naruto?" He crossed the empty street before she could prod him any further.

 **...**

 **...**

"Sakura," Naruto choked out, "I'm about to lose my voice."

After setting up the lawn signs, Team Four snacked on pizza, then opened the farmstand for business. Naruto had shouted through the megaphone for an hour, advertising the farmstand to passing cars. "Could you take over, just for a little bit?" he asked.

She frowned but went over to him. "You know I'm not good with strangers," she mumbled.

He passed the megaphone off to her. "Thanks, Sakura!" She winced as she heard his voice crack. "You'll do great. Just say nice and encouraging things."

"Alright, Naruto. Go get a drink." She watched him disappear behind the farmstand to grab his water bottle.

Sakura examined the buttons on the megaphone. Their labels were gone, rubbed away by long use. Sakura held her breath, then pressed the leftmost button. A loud wail emitted from the gadget.

"Sakura!" Iruka screeched.

She quickly silenced the alarm by pressing the button again. "Sorry." She tried the button in the middle. Nothing happened after she pressed it. She brought the megaphone to her mouth. "Hello?" she said cautiously. Her voice rung out, amplified.

Naruto came to stand by her side, water bottle in hand. He waved at the cars while Sakura shouted at them. She sounded a little abrasive, which probably explained their suddenly poor business and the plethora of annoyed stares the pair received.

"Hey, you look like you need to eat more vegetables!" she said, pointing to the farmstand. The unfortunate victim of her attack turned to glare at her, eyes narrowed in dislike. Then, he gave her the middle finger.

Her mouth dropped open. "Did he just..." she said to Naruto in a daze.

Iruka erupted into laughter behind them. Naruto tried to keep the giggles down for Sakura's sake...and for his own. Wow, she did look scary right now. Wouldn't want that anger suddenly directed at himself.

Sakura held the megaphone out to Naruto, then stalked over to the farmstand. She flopped down onto the grass, then covered her face with her hands.

"Guess we're done with the megaphone for today," Iruka chuckled. Naruto switched it off before joining his teammates.

"I can't believe that guy." Sakura's voice came out muffled through her fingers. "I've never been flipped off before."

"S'okay, Sakura. Happens all the time around here."

She peered at Naruto through the spaces between her fingers, before uncovering her face. "I'm not very good around people," she admitted.

Naruto looked at her, confused. "But I like you," he said bluntly.

Sakura's face burned at his easy confession. "Wha—I mean—" Color invaded his own cheeks. "I-Iruka, you like Sakura too, right?" he sputtered desperately.

Iruka snickered at the scene before him. "Of course I do."

"Yeah, see Sakura?" Naruto gave her an embarrassed smile. "We're your friends—ah!"

She grabbed Naruto's wrist and pulled him down next to her. He sat on the grass, bewildered. "Sakura?"

She smiled at him, cheeks warm. "Thank you, Naruto."


End file.
